New York….. I get a couple days off from shows and driving… it feels good to be out walking on my feet…

On my way uptown to visit Joe at the karaoke BBQ joint, as I was stepping onto the train station platform, right in front of me about 8 feet away, I walked straight into the action… of a guy swinging through, Popeye style, fully clocking another guy square in the jaw. RIGHT IN FRONT ME.

The guy who got hit didn’t even try to block it and fell backwards without putting his hands out to break the fall… he just fell back on the ground and laid there stiff and paralyzed for a couple minutes. His eyes were wide open, with a look of Christmas morning astonishment and disbelief… didn’t look around to anyone for help, just stared to the ceiling and laid there in a trance… some people started gathering around, then he just got up and walked away.

When I got to my stop uptown, I came out on Broadway Ave…. asked a couple girls walking past me for some helpful directions. They just kept walking… I continued talking to them kindly as they got further and further away, as if we were all in the same conversation…. when they reached the corner, without turning around, in New York chic fashion, they both flipped me off. As if they had rehearsed it. Both lighting up their birds over their shoulder. I thanked them… and New York.

Later, on my way back, it was 2am, I was waiting for my subway train… one of the workers was blasting a power water gun, cleaning the platform area… another worker was sweeping the sprayed areas…. it was so late and ghost town-like, we were the only three out there….. the water gun lady apparently needed to blast the area where I was standing, and yelled out to the sweeper lady, “Hey! Tell that girl to move!”

Goodnight, New York.

Lincoln, NE….. played a show with Sas and Sean tonight. They’ve also graciously taken me in for food and shelter and it is the perfect, easy getaway. Time does stand still here. I have lost track of the days and hours… and their trees and ground are smothered in bright yellow and orange. I haven’t seen this phenomenon in years and years. I think it’s called Fall.

I escaped Denver today, just as they were getting 24 inches of snow dumped on them. Literally, watching the snow flakes come down in my rear view mirror… I am hoping this trend will continue… me outrunning the storm. Onward to the great plains of Nebraska… flat and wide… colorless… without any memorable taste… no show tonight, just a long day for driving… I don’t enjoy these days. There’s no payoff. It’s just a chore that has to be done…. with no scenery…

Denver, CO
I made it back through the Rockies… barely… I guess I am tempting fate, zig-zagging back and forth like this… the snow started really coming down just as I was coming out of the pass on the other side. Tonight was a jam-packed, sold out show with the Subdudes. Some people got it. Some people did not and missed it completely. Weird how that happens sometimes. I suppose it’s like any cult leader… you have to let the message of love go out… and realize that there may be a number of folks who will not understand. They may be deaf or too broken or too drunk to hear. You can’t save everyone.

After a difficult night, it makes a huge difference knowing I’ll be crashing into a giant, soft, perfect bed. It’s not home, but there is this luxurious bliss feeling when the door of your hotel closes behind you and, for one night at least, there is peace and quiet and a vacuum-sealed silence.

When I got to the hotel tonight, they had no reservation listed for me. After cross-checking with all my supposed confirmation numbers, they finally figured it all out and found my reservation… for the previous night. I somehow reserved (and paid for) the wrong night! This is a big deal at 1am…

It took Doug (the hotel concierge) 3 seconds to declare, “I am so sorry, normally we are not able to change reservations, but tonight I can sneak you in another room.”

What could have been a giant miserable catastrophe, and me getting pushed out in to the cold streets (or into my car) for the night, was instantly saved by a merciful, quick thinking, right-headed, late-night concierge … Amazing! Thank you Mr. Doug, and thank you Crowne Plaza Hotel. You have my lifelong allegiance and I will happily be your celebrity spokesmodel in all your tv commercials.

Provo, UT
Last night’s show in Logan was perfect. I am already starting to grow quite fond of Utah. Everyone I meet is so friendly. Trusting. Open. Innocent. Sweetly naive. Unjaded.

It is hard to shift my gears. Hard to set aside my cynicism. I can feel my loaded guns shaking and quaking and ready to explode with sarcasm and face-punching wit…. and I have to keep pulling my finger away from the trigger and NOT fire away…

Despite some weirdness here in Provo (gentlemen, I am flattered, but I have no interest in your pre-teen wives) I’m making some lifelong friends here. It feels good to be out here… thank you Stepford…

Logan, Utah…
This is my first time ever playing in Utah… there is something rather precious and sweet about a first night in any place. I remember the first night I set foot in India, rode in to New Delhi from the airport on a 10pm bus… walked straight into the darkness and chaos and smell of piss everywhere… I took the advice of a girl I met on the bus ride. She swore this particular hotel was amazing and cheap. Cheap it was… $1 for the night. It turned out to be the dingiest, skankiest, sketchiest place I’ve ever slept. Bugs and roaches crawling around. A stained mattress (with no sheets or pillows or blankets) sitting in a metal frame. Pulsating, shimmering, florescent lights that barely lit the room. A broken padlock hinge to keep the door closed. The bathroom was worse. I ended up staying awake the whole night on that first night in New Delhi.

Logan was the name of my boyhood dog. The best dog ever. I was about 15 years old. He was a black collie with a white crown around his chest. Smarter than any dog in the world. Loved him more than anything in the world. Funny how a word or memory from your past can give you preconceived, prejudged bias. I can’t not love you, Logan. Who’s the good boy?

Rocky Mountains… coming back through towards Utah. Still no snow. Another lucky break. It occurred to me, I have never driven in the snow. Never had to put chains on a car. Never had to worry about it. I’m getting used to all the scenery and open space. I can see what makes people want to be here. If they just had a huge ocean and beach and sunshine weather all year long, I would definitely move here….